The minesweeper M 271 “Captain Constantin Dumitrescu” left on Monday, June 15, from the military port of Constanta, to participate, for two weeks, in the 10th activation of the Task Force for Combating Marine Mines in the Black Sea (MCM BS TG – Mine Countermeasures Black Sea Task Group).
Along with the Romanian ship, the naval group also includes two ships belonging to the Turkish Naval Forces, the auxiliary ship TCG Üsteğmen Arif Ekmekçi (A-575) and the minesweeper TCG AYVALIK (M-267), as well as the maritime dredger BGS PRIBOY (MS-63) from the Bulgarian Naval Forces.
Between June 15 and 18, the four ships will participate in the multinational exercise “Eurasian Partnership Mine Countermeasure Dive 2026” (EP MCM Dive 26), organized by the Romanian Naval Forces, under the coordination of the 39 Divers Center.
During the mission, the MCM BS group will have stopovers, for the restoration of combat capability, in the ports of Constanta (Romania) and Istanbul (Turkey).
The role of the MCM BLACK SEA regional initiative is to ensure freedom of navigation at sea, in international waters, through surveillance, recognition and neutralization of possible dangers to maritime traffic, such as drifting sea mines.
The minesweeper M 271 “Captain Constantin Dumitrescu” has a crew of 44 military sailors and is commanded by Captain-Commander Madalina Drăgan-Ghigalău.